My marketing efforts and considerations will include advertising, showing the property, how long the house has been on the market and whether you're buying another home. Your home will also be listed through the Charlotte NC area Multiple Listing Service (MLS), CarolinaMLS. 

Advertising and Promotion

As your REALTOR^®, I will advertise properties listed with her through: her website, internet home search and listing services, and classified advertising and real estate guides (if needed). Promotion efforts through office and MLS tours are also a good way of getting other buyer agents to view your home and to promote it to the buyers they are working with. Virginia will announce your listing to the over 100 agents within the Keller Williams SouthPark office via a "Just Listed" email, and also place the listing on the Keller Williams Listing Service website where it will be visiable to all Keller Williams agents and to the public.

Even with all these advertising avenues, " For Sale" signs on front lawns are still remarkably effective. I may also choose to create a customized 800# for your listing.  The 800# is placed on the yard sign, and will allow prospective buyers to learn more about your listing by just calling he 800#.  Brochure boxes in addition to the yard signs may also be used to market the property. When appropriate, and with your permission, I may also send a mailing about your property to your neighbors. One or more of your neighbors may already know of a friend, co-worker, or relative who they have always wanted to live near them and who is in the market for a new home. You never know how far reaching the benefits of word-of-mouth advertising by friends, relatives and neighbors can be.

In addition to putting her years of real estate marketing experience to work for you, Virginia will also utilize the power of the internet to assist in marketing your property.  Some of the online advertising locations where you can expect me to market your property are:

Showings and Open Houses

To prepare your home for viewing, make it as bright, clean, cheerful and serene as possible. Always look at your home from the buyer's point of view. As your REALTOR^®, Virginia will use her years of experience and unique eye to make suggestions which will assist your property to be more appealing to buyers and make a good first impression.  The seller(s) should be absent while the house is being shown to prospective buyers and for open houses.  The seller's presence will inhibit the buyer's actions and conversations. They will not feel free to open closets and cabinets, test out the plumbing and discuss their observations objectively as they walk through the house. It also goes without saying that your children and pets should not be on the premises either. If your pets do need to be on the premises for showings and open houses, placing the pets in crates in a less traveled location in the home, such as a utility room or sunroom/covered patio or deck, is preferred and will be less intimidating to the buyers viewing the property.

If Virginia has scheduled an open house, it would be a good idea to notify your neighbors, and assure them that they'll be welcome. They'll jump at the chance to poke around in your house, and sometimes they can turn up a buyer among their friends.

Quick tips for showings and open houses:

• Clean or replace dirty or worn carpets.
• Open all curtains and blinds.
• Replace any burned out light bulbs and turn on all lights.
• Clear all clutter.
• Clear all countertops.
• Wash and put away any dirty dishes.
• Set the dining room or kitchen table, if you have particularly nice linen or china.
• Simmer a few drops of vanilla on the stove.
• Put on soft music.
• Burn wood in the fireplace on cold days, otherwise, clean the fireplace.
• Put fresh towels in the bathroom. If possible, roll your towels.  Rolling towels gives the impression of more space.
• Take any laundry out of the washer and dryer.
• Leave the house so your REALTOR^® is free to deal with prospective buyers in a professional manner.
• Put pets in cages or take them to a neighbor.

How Long Has Your House Been on the Market?

Professional appraisers sum up their entire body of knowledge in three words: " Buyers make value." Your home is worth as much as a buyer will pay for it.

If your home has been on the market for months, it’s a clear message that the property may not be worth what you're asking for it. This is particularly true if there haven't been many prospects coming to see it. What you do at that point depends on whether you really need to sell, and whether you're working with a time limit.

If you're not really motivated to move soon, you can always wait - years if necessary - and hope inflation will catch up with the price you want. The problem is that in that time, your home begins to feel shopworn. Buyers become suspicious of a house that's been for sale for a long time.

If you really do need to sell, discuss with me a schedule for gradually dropping your price until you find a level that attracts buyers. There's no point in saying, " We simply can't sell our house." Anything will sell if the price is right.

If You’re Buying Another Home

You may wonder what will happen when you're selling one home and buying another – how will all the details work out? This is a common situation and REALTORS^®, lawyers, title, and escrow companies have plenty of experience in arranging contracts and loans so that the two transactions dovetail smoothly.

Should you sell your home first then buy or buy first then sell? Ideally, it’s best to find a home you like and make an offer subject to selling your current home. This generally works in a normal market. However, in a “hot” market most sellers will not accept a “subject to sale” offer. In this case you need to sell your home first and then buy a new home in the interim period between selling and vacating your house.

If you find that you need to buy the next house before you've received the proceeds from the present one, lending institutions can sometimes make you a short-term "bridge" loan to tide you over between the two transactions. Make sure you fully understand the exposure and emotional investment before proceeding with this type of loan.